It’s been nearly four years since multimillionaire-bankruptcy attorney Peter Francis Geraci allegedly threatened to “ruin” a dog-walker his wife had attacked in an elevator at their River North condo building.
But the day the Geracis pay for their hubris may be fast approaching.
A ruling handed down by the Illinois Appellate Court this week upholds a jury’s earlier finding that Holly Geraci battered dog-walker Robin Di Buono, then called the cops and made a false report.
Upholding the damages of $275,000 that the jury ordered the Geracis to pay Di Buono, the appeals court also unanimously found that the judge who oversaw the trial was within his rights to call the Geracis’ claims “palpable nonsense.”
The Monday ruling leaves the highly litigious Geracis 0-for-6 in their attempts to convince the courts that Holly Geraci, who says she is terrified of dogs thanks to a childhood attack, was the real victim of the attack.
The couple previously failed in a criminal prosecution of Di Buono; heard two earlier lawsuits connected to the incident described as “nonsense” by two judges; lost an associated federal trial against their condo association for refusing to lock dogs out of the elevator; and was roundly defeated at a state court trial last summer, when a jury rejected Holly Geraci’s claims that she had been attacked and ordered her to pay Di Buono $25,000 for pain and suffering, $125,000 for emotional distress, and $125,000 in punitive damages.
Di Buono and a dog-walking client testified previously that Peter Francis Geraci had threatened to use his “80-lawyer” firm to “ruin” Di Buono — a comment a Chicago cop also testified he had heard part of.
Di Buono has described the years of litigation as “a nightmare” she can ill afford.
It remains to be seen how much further the Geracis, who could appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, want to take the matter. They did not return calls seeking comment.
Though they continue to fight their condo association in court, they moved to resolve their housing situation last year by purchasing what is reputed to be the most expensive unfinished home ever sold in Chicago — the $8.63 million 6,000-square-foot penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences. But only after winning a lawsuit against their new neighbor, naturally.
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